James Garner: biography, personal life, filmography

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

James Garner is an American film, television and voice actor, producer, director and musician. He became famous in the fifties of the last century thanks to the main role in the serial western "Maverick". He also played a central role in the popular TV series The Rockford Files. Nominated for the most prestigious award "Oscar" in the category "Best Actor". In total, he took part in one hundred feature films and television projects during his career.

Childhood and youth

James Garner was born April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma. His real name is James Scott Bumgarner. At the age of five, the future actor lost his mother and, together with his brother and sister, was forced to move in with relatives.

After the children again began to live with their father, who married several times. James Garner later stated in an interview that one of his stepmothers severely punished him, it even came tophysical abuse.

In high school, Garner was a successful football and basketball player, and also showed promise as a professional golfer. However, James left school shortly before graduation.

Military service

At the age of sixteen, James Garner joined the US Merchant Marine, but soon began to suffer from chronic seasickness and was forced to leave this job. Also, the future actor briefly worked as a model, but later admitted that he hated this job.

Soon, James Garner enlisted in the US National Guard in California. He spent the first seven months of service at home, but was later sent to the Korean War, where he served for a little over a year.

During this time, James received two wounds - from the shrapnel of an exploding enemy bomb and from friendly fire from US aircraft. After the first wound, he was awarded a significant Purple Heart award, after the second case he was also supposed to receive a medal, but in fact he received it 32 years after the incident, already being a Hollywood star.

The beginning of an acting career

After the end of the service, James Garner decided to start an acting career. His first job in the industry was a small silent role in one of the Broadway productions, where he watched the famous actor Henry Fonda every night.

Later, Garner began to appear in commercials and small roles in television series. Changed his last name after one of the studios listed it in the credits without his permission.

TV success

In 1957 the actorreceived the most significant role in his creative biography. James Garner got the opportunity to play the main character in the comedy western "Maverick", which was about a professional gambler during the Wild West.

Initially, "Maverick" was supposed to have one main character, but soon the channel added another central character to the project, Brett's brother Maverick Bart, performed by Jack Kelly. The series quickly became a hit and made Garner a recognizable actor. In total, the project lasted five seasons, 124 episodes were released on the screens. However, the actor himself took part in only three seasons, as he left the series due to disagreements with the studio. The creators of the series tried to introduce new main characters into the plot, but without much success.

On the big screen

Almost immediately after leaving "Maverick" James Garner got the lead role in the military film "Darby's Rangers" instead of Charlton Heston, who unexpectedly left the project. The film's success bolstered the studio's confidence in Garner as a big-screen star, and he soon began to land more lead roles in major feature films.

In subsequent years, James Garner's filmography included such notable films as the military drama Raise the Periscope, the romantic drama Cash McCall, the sports film Grand Prix, the thriller 36 Hours and the neo-noir Marlow.

The most prominent at this stage of an actor's career isadventure war film "The Great Escape", where such stars as Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Donald Pleasence became his on-screen partners. The film performed well at the box office and was later recognized as a cult classic.

Later roles

In the seventies, the popularity of the actor faded a bit. He appeared in several feature-length and television films, but mainly focused on a new series project, where he reunited with the creator of the series "Maverick" Roy Huggins.

The Rockford Files detective drama centered on private detective Jim Rockford, a Korean War veteran and former prisoner. The series was a real hit and brought the prestigious Emmy award to James Garner. The actor appeared in all episodes of the project, however, due to chronic problems with his knees, he could not continue filming, the project was closed by the channel, despite excellent ratings.

At the same time, several attempts were made to revive the series "Maverick". The Young Maverick project, where James Garner appeared only in the pilot episode, was canceled after only a few episodes were shown. The Maverick sequel starring Garner was also canceled after two seasons.

In 1982, the actor starred in the musical comedy "Victor / Victoria", and two years later appeared in the tragicomedy "Love Murphy", for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Bestmale role".

Recent years

In the early 1990s, James Garner starred in several television films and series that were canceled due to poor ratings.

In 1994, he played one of the main roles in the remake of "Maverick", where Hollywood stars Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster also appeared. Two years later, he played a major role in the mini-series Lonesome Dove, for which he was awarded the Golden Globe Award.

In 2000, the actor played one of the main roles in Clint Eastwood's space drama, where, in addition to Eastwood himself, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland became his screen partners. The last notable role of the actor is the melodrama "The Notebook".

Also in recent years, Garner has been actively working in voice acting, giving his voice to the characters of several cartoons and animated series and taking part in advertising campaigns for famous brands.

Personal life and hobbies

In 1956, the actor met Lois Clark at one of the parties organized by the US Democratic Party. The wedding took place just 14 days after the couple met.

Garner adopted Lois' seven-year-old daughter named Kim. The couple later had a second daughter, Greta. The personal life of James Garner became the subject of intense media attention in the seventies, when the couple parted twice, the first time for only a few months, after several years. However, after 1981, the couple remained together.

During the filming of The Rockford Files, the actor underwent several operations on his knees, due to which the production of the project was stopped. In 2000, Garner went through a complex operation, the doctors replaced both of his knees. In 1988, he also underwent heart surgery, but contrary to the advice of doctors, he did not quit smoking almost until his death. In 2008, the actor suffered a stroke and after that he stopped appearing on the screen. Passed away July 20, 2014 from a heart attack.

James Garner was fond of golf. He was also a fan of the Raiders football team, often attended games and knew the players. In the late sixties, he became interested in car racing, owned a professional team, and also took part in several races as a driver.

Throughout his life, Garner was actively involved in the life of his hometown, supported the University of Oklahoma, attended football team games and even donated about a million dollars to the acting department, which is now named after him - James Garner Chair in the School of Drama. The city of Norman even installed a three-meter statue of the actor in the image of Brett Maverick.